In The Name of Victory
by jupitermonkey4
Summary: Follow Team RNJR and Team CRDL as they scour the city of Mistral in search of Pyrrha's murderer. Uncovering plots and bloody histories abound, can the unlikely teamwork between these teams hold against the growing animosity in the city? This is a post V3 story from Ruby's perspective.
1. Chapter 1

The wind whistled through the bark in the Leon Forests, one of the many natural borders that surrounded Mistral, aiding in its defense against the growing darkness of the Grimm. What allowed what would naturally be considered a normal forest to hold back the unrelenting force was in fact what could be viewed as the most normal thing to expect in the woods. Roots. The roots of the Leon Forest ran shallow, and often breached the earth to tangle with the similar appendages of the other trees. This formed a series of powerful thickets and canopies, which all but halted all but the most determined or powerful of foes.

It was underneath one of these canopies that Ruby Rose laid, back to the trunk as she attempted to regain her bearings. Narrowing her eyes, she attempted to focus her vision on the ground directly in front of her. Soon, three roots became one, and she raised her head to view her surroundings, only to have her neck flare in pain as she shifted, causing her to drop it again, all while gritting her teeth.

"Ahh…fish sticks" grunted the Rose. Slowly this time, she shifted her gaze to the dark world around her. Scanning her immediate surroundings, recognizing she was in a large clearing. During this, a glow caught her eyes, immediately causing them to widen at sight of the smouldering wreckage of a Bullhead in the clearing, a good 100 meters away from her.

' **Their** Bullhead' she realized, horror dawning on her as she grasped the situation. 'Their. Plural. As in the one that Nora was flying. As in the one Ren was co-piloting and Jaune was barfing in'. In a panic, Ruby began to rise, only to have the entire world start spinning once again. Plopping back into her seat, Ruby began to evaluate the crash site anew and assess the situation. While the Bullhead was on fire, she could see that it had torn up much of the earth in its crash, leaving little vegetation nearby that could burn. Thanks to the glow of the fire, Ruby could see the area surrounding the Bullhead quite clearly. As she focused her aura to her brain to heal any concussion she may have, her memories flooded back to her.

* * *

 _It had only been four days since Ruby, Nora, Jaune and Ren had left Patch. Rather than try and go back to Vale to secure one of the rare flights that left the kingdom for Mistral, the team had decided to…borrow the Bullhead that Ruby's father, Tai-Yang, held in a personally owned warehouse in the small port town that was normally used to secure transport between the island and the mainland. When they claimed it, Jaune raised the question of whether or not it would be okay to steal a transport – family or not. To this, Ruby merely snorted and simply stated "Sure! It's not like he needs it right?" No one had argued at the time, but looking back on it, her father would most certainly annoyed that his preferred mode of transportation had disappeared along with his youngest daughter._

 _Sporting aviator goggles and a pink bomber jacket, Nora surprised both Jaune and Ruby as she hoped into the pilot's chair while Ren made his way to the co-pilots seat. Watching their dumbfounded looks, Ren merely smirked and stated, "You aren't the first people to steal an airship."_

 _As they flew high above the Leon Forest, Ruby had opened the side-hatch of the aircraft to peer out into the veritable sea of green and gold, causing Jaune to begin retching anew. At the calm smell of greenery rose from the forest, Ruby felt peace for the first time in what felt like years. This is what they were fighting for. This nature, this world, all of it was far too beautiful to watch it burn at the hands of Cinder. At this thought, the reaper grimaced as she remembered the terrible fate that the lady in red had bestowed upon Pyrrha. Clenching her fist even tighter on the frame of the hatch until her knuckles grew white and her eyes grew became clouded with unshed tears. Poor Pyrrha…she would never get to see these forests again. Almost as though reading her mind, Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder as a distinctly pale-faced but determined Jaune stood beside her, his docile tone doing nothing to hide the underlying fury that he surely felt in his heart, "This is why we have to find that woman. To set things right." He finished with considerable effort on his part, "For Pyrrha."_

 _It was at that moment that the Bullhead shook, causing Ruby to lose her balance and began to fall out of the open hatch, headfirst. Before she knew what was happening, she was a two feet away from the hatch and hanging in mid-air. Before she could plummet, Jaune's arm shot out and grabbed her leg, stopping her fall. Looking into the eyes of her unlikely saviour, Ruby almost drowned in her overwhelming sense of fear at almost meeting a grisly end, and pure joy that Jaune saved her, yet he wouldn't meet her eyes. Those emotions were instantly obliterated at the realization that Jaune's face wasn't red from the exertion, but the fact that she was indeed wearing a combat skirt…and hanging upside down underneath Jaune. Soon, all she could feel was such heavy embarrassment she kind of wanted Jaune to just let her fall at that point – in her eyes her life was already over._

 _The Bullhead shook again. From her peculiar vantage point, Ruby could see the faint wings of a Giant Nevermore that had gotten the drop on the vessel, and was tearing away at its canopy and engines. With a guttural roar, the airship began to spin out of control, and fear established itself in Ruby once more. Clenching his teeth, Jaune could feel his grip slipping as he too struggled to hold himself upright inside the vessel. He looked at Ruby one last time, opening his mouth to cry something out…_

 _Only to be cut off as the left engine exploded._

* * *

As the chain of events that led up to her position rectified themselves along with her now fading headache, Ruby nervously searched the clearing for any sign of her friends. Checking her now cracked scroll, Ruby could barely make out the time it displayed. ' _9:13. we must have crashed only a few minutes ago. I have to be quick if they're in trouble.'_ She stretched her arms to her sides and placed the adjacent to her legs and onto the ground, propping herself up. "Gottafindthemgottafindthemgottafindthem" she muttered over and over to herself as the thought of losing any more friends gripped her heart

Her prayers were answered when a hatch flew off of the toppled Bullhead and landed several feet away. As smoke billowed out of it, a haggard looking Nora Valkyrie climbed out of the wreckage, her goggles gone and her pink bomber jacket covered in soot. Following suite came the coughing figure of Lie Ren, clasping Nora's outstretched hand. His normally prim and proper green top was missing a sleeve and had a hole in his back with a rough black line surrounding it. ' _His jacket probably caught on fire! I'm sure Nora had a field-day with patting that one out.'_ she laughed to herself. Rising to meet them, Ruby found that her feet could once again rest comfortably underneath her. Taking a few confident steps towards the duo that rested atop the rubble, she froze at a sudden and terrifying prospect.

Jaune hadn't come out of the ship. Nora and Ren wouldn't just leave him in there if he couldn't come out on his own, meaning…..

Ruby's eyes scanned what she had initially believe to be nothing more than rubble in the darkness at first, and found her answer in the form of a tuft of Blonde that stuck out from a shape that looked very much like a sack of potatoes. Swiftly marching towards shape, Ruby found herself smiling as she heard the boy groaning, something about airline food or other. As she closed the distance between them she noted that he was only 20 meters away, while the Bullhead was still 80 meters away from Jaune. Striding forward, Ruby could only feel relief at the sight of all of her friends being safe. Battered and hurt, but safe nonetheless.

Her inner peace was sharply interrupted as she found herself stumbling, only managing a weak "Wuh-" before finding herself face to face with a bunch of dirt for what felt like one to many times in one night. Looking behind her, only then did Ruby notice the absence of the familiar weight by her hips. Covered in dirt and grime yet intact, lay Crescent Rose on the ground.

"Ah! Rosie! You came back for me!" she sniffled as she clung to the scythe, face first. "I thought I'd lost you forever!" she cried, only to stop herself and ask no one in particular – "Wait. Did I just lie to my scythe?"

Her question was never answered as an all too familiar growl echoed across the clearing. "Aw **come on!** " yelled the reaper, now getting the attention of the two pilots resting on the Bullhead, as well as the now upright Jaune Arc. "Heya Ruby! Heya Jaune! I'm glad you guys aren't pancakes! Well. Mostly glad anyways!" Yelled Nora in her typically upbeat manner, though the drawing of her might hammer Magnhild ensured Ruby that the red-head wasn't unaware of their situation.

The source of the cry rested in the treeline she had just been resting under, the blood red eyes of an Alpha Beowulf shown clear as day in the darkness of the forest. Swinging Crescent Rose hard, Ruby shifted the weapon from a high-powered sniper rifle to a mighty red scythe. As she readied herself for battle, the form of the Alpha became clear against the glow of the Bullhead as it barreled its way into the clearing.

Charging Ruby, the Alpha took a mighty swing at the girl, only to have her roll underneath its claws and to its left, slicing at whatever exposed regions she could find. Swiftly recovering, the Beowulf ground its feet into the forest floor as it spun to face its nimble adversary, seemingly unfazed by its multiple fresh cuts. Leaping forwards, Ruby fired two shots at its thick face plate, causing it to flinch. Using her opening and momentum, the red reaper buried her blade deep into its neck, firing her rifle to add extra force to her pull as she tore the blade from the already disintegrating creature of Grimm.

Upon re-examining the field, Ruby found the others to be engulfed in their own battles. Standing atop the crashed airhead, Nora fired her grenades into the tree line that was dotted with red eyes of all kind, clearly drawn to the crash site. All the while, Ren fired bursts from his twin SMG's called Stormflower into the creatures that had begun to scale their vantage point. Kicking and stabbing where he could, and shooting where he couldn't, Ren would keep the Grimm clear of Nora. ' _For now at least'_ Ruby couldn't help but think as she watched the almost unending waves of Grimm pour out of the treeline. Hearing a sharp whistle from behind her, Ruby instinctively ducked – only to see an Ursa's paw swing clearly over her. Without even looking, Ruby spun Crescent Rose with a flourish and cut deep into the Ursa's ribcage. Confident in her abilities, Ruby dashed out from underneath the beast, hearing the familiar crash as the creature toppled onto the spot she had occupied seconds before.

Ruby now looked towards her friend; the blond and proud knight. While not exactly the most…Skilled of fighters to grace the battle field, scratch that – easily one of the worst she had ever seen, Jaune showed immense potential. And that much was shown off right now as he pulled his blade, Crocea Mors, from the leg of a collapsed Beowulf and finished it off by slashing its head off – only to turn and soak up an overhead smash from an Ursa with his shield.

Using her semblance, Ruby cleared the distance between the two of them, firing away at the exposed joints of the Ursa as she skidded to a halt next to Jaune, who took the distraction as a chance to bury his blade straight through the creatures jaw.

"Ruby!" Jaune gasped, his relief and joy thick in his voice despite his haggard breathing. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Dontcha worry Jaune!" She beamed at him, "It'll take more than a silly explosion to-"she stopped as she decapitated a particularly reckless Beowulf, "take me down!" she finished with a giggle. Jaune looked visibly relieved at the news before stepping in front of Ruby to glance off a Boarbatusk's charge, sending it careening into the chest of an Ursa Major.

Truth be told, she felt a lot less than alright. Being thrown from an airship only to hit a tree had really done a number on her aura, and her exhaustion was beginning to seep through the adrenaline. The Grimm's numbers had begun to thicken, as they no longer came one at a time, but by two's and three's as well. Sparing a glance at her friends, Ruby could see the duo were in no better shape. Ren's defense had begun to collapse, and now sought to hold a much smaller area of the ship, being forced to let some of the Grimm board safely onto the tail end of the ship. Nora had stopped firing at this point, opting to save her grenades as a last resort. Now, the chipper red-head swung with deadly efficiency, ensuring that every swing ended with a kill.

"We need to push towards them!" Yelled Jaune as he barely rolled away from a Deathstalkers probing stinger in time. Simply grunting in affirmation, Ruby leaped onto the head of a nearby Ursa and launched herself towards the Deathstalker. With its attention focused on the blond knight, Ruby fired into the base of its sickly-gold stinger, causing the entire creature to recoil in pain. Not one to let an opportunity be wasted, Ruby grabbed Jaune's arm and ran with him towards the airship, closing the distance rapidly. ' _60 feet. 40 feet. 30 feet. Almost th-'_ Ruby thought to herself, only to have her focus shattered by the ear splitting trumpet that sounded from the the sound rang out, Ruby could feel her teeth chattering as she slowed her and Jaune's semblance enhanced sprint. The Grimm slowed their assault as well, watching the tree line that stood to Ruby and Jaune's right and lay alongside the middle of their team. The sounds of fighting were drowned out by heavy thumping as one final blast rumbled its way through the massive, building sized trees.

It was at that moment that one of the trees exploded.

Shrapnel and debris showered monster and human alike, the slower and weaker of the Grimm finding themselves impaled by the once proud and thick limps of the wooden sentinel. Standing in its place strode a Goliath, easily five stories tall and twenty meters wide. Ruby stood agape as she realized exactly just how huge the creatures she had seen from her perch at Mountain Glenn truly were, _'And I wanted to fight one of these?!'_ was the first thought that raced through her mind as saw the behemoth crush its brethren underneath its feet as it plowed towards Nora and Ren – who had taken the lull in the battle to sprint with all they could muster towards Ruby and Jaune.

"Jaune. Ruby." Ren greeted each of them in turn, though not without stopping for air in-between names. _'Even in battle he still maintains his composure...'_ mused the brunette. After they had all caught their breath before the monstrosity realized the duo weren't by the Bullhead anymore, it was Jaune's turn to speak "What the crap is that thing even doing near Mistral?!" he half-whined, half whimpered. His frustration was not a positive effect on moral, Ruby couldn't help but agree with his confusion. Why on earth is this here?

"It looks rather small compared to the descriptions in Professor Port's lessons, perhaps it's a young one – still foolish enough to try and break through the barriers." Stated Ren, not even looking at the now very angry beast that turned its attention to them whilst he reloaded his dual SMG's. Upon closer inspection, Ruby could indeed see the signs of a newer Grimm. Its hide lacked the numerous scars and bone plates that normally dotted an elder beast; parting gifts from hunters and huntresses, either dead or alive. "Well, that just means we can smash it even harder!" giggled Nora, turning a fleeing Boarbatusk into a flat piece of black and white mush with only one swing of her mighty hammer, a sight nobody other than Ren could bring themselves to get used to.

The beast was almost upon them, and the time for idle chit-chat was over. The team split apart, leaving Ren to roll underneath its right front foot and kicked off the ground to bury his blades into its legs, firing into its muscles as he tore away at the tough hide. Nora's approach to combat lacked the refinement that Ren carried, but was nonetheless effective. Leaping away from the battle, she shifted Magnhild to its grenade launcher form and begun scoring hits along the Goliath's white mask, leaving it scorched and blackened beneath the assault. Ruby leapt through the air, cutting away at the creature's underbelly and dodging around its mighty tusks as it failed in its attempts to obliterate the three insects that thrummed around its legs. Jaune fell into a protective role, dispatching the Grimm that had returned after they fled.

"We aren't even doing anything!" cried Ruby, dodging a rolling Boarbatusk only to watch it get crushed underfoot. The Goliath reached under its torso and swept its trunk along the ground, attempting to disorient and hurt its foes, forcing Ruby and Ren to leap out from underneath it in order to dodge.

Only to have a King Taijitu, a large black and white two headed snake – easily one of the wiser known Grimm, take this moment to lunge from its position outside of the battle and barrel straight into Ruby, sending her careening towards Nora. With a hand from Nora and a few seconds to reorient herself, the hopelessness of their battle began to dawn on her

Ren was luckier, as he managed to latch onto its white head rather than absorb the brunt of the attack. Unfortunately, he was now being thrown around by an angry snake as it attempted to dislodge him as its black half began a relentless assault on Jaune, who was being pushed dangerously close to the treeline. The Goliath had begun charging the white knight, identifying him as the weakest link in the battle. A single swing from those tusks would kill Jaune instantly, with or without Aura. Nora was still in relatively good fighting shape, and looked at Ruby with rare uncertainty. Realizing they only had one shot to crack that Goliaths skull and win, Ruby changed Crescent Rose to its sniper-form, and yelled loud enough for Jaune to hear, "Nora! Jaune! **Smash!** "

With a glint in her eyes, Nora set off at a run, firing her second-to-last grenade at the half of the Taijitu that was harassing Jaune, effectively stunning it from the sudden assault. Grateful, Jaune didn't waste any time in plunging his blade up to its hilt into the eye socket of the Grimm. Turning to Nora, all he needed was a nod for him to face the charging Goliath and drop on one knee, bracing his shield above his head. With a "Woop!" Nora leapt onto Jaune's shield and with practiced skill, Jaune pushed with all his force and leapt into the air, all while Nora simultaneously fired her remaining grenade to sail high into the air in front of the Goliath's head. _'We can do this!'_ thought Ruby, filling with hope at the sight of her ace-in-the-hole flying through the air. The hammer-maiden yodelled a battle cry as she swung her mighty maul directly at the creature's face-

Only to be grabbed out of the air by the Giant Nevermore that had previously downed their Bullhead, forcing her to drop her hammer by the sheer force of the movement alone. _Failure_ was the only word to describe the emotions that resonated in Ruby as one of her only friends was plucked from the air as though she were naught but an insect. _Horror_ as she saw Jaune get his legs swept under him was the Black half of the King Taijitu dislodged Ren, who hit the ground with a sickening thud. Momentarily stunned, the stoic man in green rolled over only to find Jaune and himself on their backsides about to be torn apart. _Regret_ as she realized she really was just a kid. **She** couldn't do this. **They** couldn't do this. No matter how hard they tried, they never stood a chance. The world rapidly span as she felt the last dregs of her Aura collapse under the blow of an undetected Ursa Major that had taken advantage of her disarray. Flat on her back, Ruby felt… _Shame._ She would never be a Huntress, they would never find Pyrrha's killer, and they would never see their friends or family again.

They would never be heroes.

"I'm really going to die aren't I?" Ruby dryly asked the Ursa Major that now swayed menacingly above her, its paw slowly raising – no doubt gathering as much strength as it could to destroy the little red creature under it. It was almost surreal – Ruby noted – she felt so many horrifying emotions at the moment, but _Fear_ was not one of them. It would **never** claim her. Not after Pyrrha had willingly gone to her death to give everyone in Vale a chance.

No, if she was to die, she would go in a manner worthy of all the efforts and faith her friends, families and professors had place in her. She would die on her own two feet. Casting aside Crescent Rose (she wouldn't even be able to swing it if she tried), the Red Reaper rose steadily to face her adversary one final time.

Staring the creature in the hollow eyes red eyes, she raised her arms at her sides to be level with her shoulders. It was only then that she closed her eyes and accepted her destiny.

"I'm sorry Yang…Make me proud…"

She felt the familiar change in air pressure that signaled the heavy arm of an Ursa swinging rapidly towards its target, praying that her friends could get away – and waited for the real Reaper to claim her…

Only for nothing to happen to her. After several seconds of waiting, the Rose cracked open an eye and swiftly opened the other at the sight in front of her.

Where a head once rested on the Grimm's shoulders now sat the black head of a mace, its extravagant flanges superheating the skin and bone it was buried in thanks to a large Fire Dust crystal inside. Attached to the mace-head was a long, thick black chain that ran past Ruby's shoulders. Her eyes following the chain, her eyes finally landed upon an intimidating figure standing a few meters behind her. The figure was clad in a black suit of chain mail, with an impressive set of heavy plate mail over it with a red sash around the man's waist. Instead of a head, the man wore a Cross helm, a closed visor helmet that encompassed the wearer's entire head except for two small eye slits. In the dead center of his helmet rested the helmets namesake – a cross. On both sides of the gray steel masterwork laid two beautifully carved golden wings.

And emblazoned on his chest plate was an all-too familiar symbol of a golden Phoenix.

"C- _ **Cardin**_ _ **?!**_ " Ruby choked out, her disbelief at the sight in front of her threatening to overwhelm her. While she couldn't see his face, the symbol and weapon were unmistakeable; come to think of it, she had never seen the weapon use a secondary form before. Almost as though he was reading her mind, the knight flipped a switch and the mace and chain began retracting to the handle and its owner – ad dragging the Ursa's headless corpse along with it. Placing a foot on the Ursa's shoulder, the knight wrenched the mace out of the maimed corpse, and confirmed her suspicions as to the identity of the warrior. "Giving up already short stop? Whatever happened to getting into Beacon two years early?" came the classic sneer of Cardin Winchester, former bully and leader of team CRDL. Brushing past her, he let out an uncharacteristically good natured laugh as he hefted his mace and rested it on his shoulders, waving his free hand at the rest of the clearing "The battle's just getting started!"

Tearing her eyes off of the man who was quite possibly the most unlikely savior in the entire universe, Ruby's eyes widened even further – something that didn't quite feel possible.

Dead was the King Taijitu, its entire body split open like a log. Ren and Jaune seem enthralled with the same disbelief she held as they watched Dove Bronzewing, wearing a plumed bronze helmet, riding the back of a troublesome Deathstalker – one palm laid across its head while the other fired his gun sword repeatedly, scoring a hit every single time without even looking. The incredibly durable exoskeleton of the scorpion seemed to vibrate intensely, practically becoming a blurry version of itself. All of a sudden its armor split apart at the very seems, the beast letting out a roar in pain as its response. Placing both hands onto the handle of his blade, the blind man drove his blade straight through the beasts head and out its mouth.

Before she could even process what she had just seen, a loud crack echoed out across the forest, followed by a small crackle of lighting that struck out the tree line behind Ruby and Cardin. It stretched across the air, until it came to rest right along the flight path of the fleeing Nevermore, Nora still in its clutches. The small string of lighting was swiftly followed by a large arrow that crackled with deadly electrical might, rocketing out of the trees and straight through the creature's tough steel-like feathers – killing it instantly. The limp body of the bird began to plummet from its lofty heights, Nora slipping from its limp clutches, powerless to stop her rapid descent without Magnhild.

Screaming in horror, Ruby picked Crescent Rose off the ground and began to run towards the inevitable crash site of the lady in pink, only to be stopped by Cardin laying a heavy hand on her shoulder, simply shaking his head at her. Before she could even voice her opinion, the source of the arrow leapt from its lofty perch and flew towards the falling Nora, leaves twirling behind him. The figure wore a forest green hood and cloak with his hood drawn tight, a pale-green spiked pad resting atop his cloak on his left side. On his chest he wore a leather brigandine, strapped to the limit with knives and Dust of all shapes and sizes. He wore simple black tights with thick brown boots. Midflight, the character held his bow aloft. It was comprised of two halves, each symmetrical with a bladed edge facing away from the user as well as curving towards him. At the center rested two rotating Dust revolvers, one cartridge was noticeably empty.

As the hooded figure neared Nora, he broke apart his bow with a flourish, and placed the now-separate daggers at his sides. Yanking Nora out of the air, the hooded figure held her bridal style with one foot extended in front of the other as he fell upright with a screaming Valkyrie in his hands. As they neared the ground, they slowed down rapidly yet softly as the wind raced to meet the falling duo. Daintily placing the trembling Viking on the ground, Russel Thrush drew back his hood and let a smirk break through his typical scowl. Dove sauntered over to the other members of his team as Ren and Jaune raced to check up on their teammates.

Ruby was relieved to see that they had all suffered minor injuries and broken ribs, but nothing too major or life threatening. However, it was blatantly apparent that they all had their Aura's completely depleted. _'They're alive…'_ Ruby felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stared into the coloured souls of her teammates and found the same emotion bubbling within all of them, yet none of them could bring themselves to speak. _'We're all alive thanks to… thanks to…'_ still unable to comprehend what had occurred, she turned to the winged-helmet barbarian-of-a-man and observed as he popped the muscles and joints of his muscles. "Let the big kids take care of this one, boys and girls." Laughed Cardin, his eyes obviously set on the Goliath that was observing them carefully before it began its final charge to destroy all of its enemies at once.

Throwing off his helmet, the orange and neat hair of the Winchester stood out in the rising sun of the breaking dawn. Looking back and into the eyes of the red reaper, she could see the predatory gleam that shown in the teen's indigo eyes. Ruby couldn't help it, but with the sunrise and the eyes and size, she felt as though she was staring at a hero of old.

The trio charged forward to meet the behemoth. Unleashing his mace and its chain, Cardin swung his flail once. Twice. And on the third time he let the whole chain loose as he finished his final rotation, cracking in into the right leg of the Goliath, bursting through skin as it heated and exploded the oxygen in its very blood. The creature wailed in pain, but did not stop its charge. Swinging its tusks at Dove and Russel, it found no purchase in its attacks.

Leaping high into the air once more, Russel attached his blades together once more and rotated the chamber of his bow, settling on a red one. A thin red line appeared between the two blade tips, and Russel drew back, and promptly let loose a bolt of fire straight into the creatures eyes with such force that a large crack began to form down the middle of its faceplate. Loading a pale blue cylinder, he unleashed another bolt at its legs hind-legs, freezing it in place.

Using the momentum of the Goliaths' swing, Dove leapt onto the massive tusk of the monster, and began to run up the steep incline as the monster held still under the barrage of fire in its eyes, unable to move from the pain. With a boost of air from a descending Russel, Dove flew on to the back of the creature, firmly gripping its surprising soft neck. Just as with the Deathstalker, the creature's mask began to shake wildly, its' already battered visage and tusks beginning to crack under the constant barrage of intense vibrations that shook through its' body.

Raising his mace one more, Cardin planted his right foot forward as he brought his left hand above his head. With a mighty roar, he brought his mace crashing down onto the massive tusk of the beast, shattering it almost entirely.

Ruby was at a loss for words. Here was one of the worst teams of Beacon in sparring. The team that had been beaten in its entirety by Pyrrha Nikos without her even breaking a sweat. The team that made it to the second round of the Vytal Festival Tournament solely due to the fact that the other team was a no-show. Bullies and cowards in everything they had done in their school life. Yet those very same brutes had gone toe to toe with some of the strongest forms of Grimm they had yet to face in their lives and crushed them easily.

As team RNJR watched in silence as the trio did their deadly work, only Ren noticed the blue haired man walking out from behind them, carrying a box full of medical supplies. Without saying a word, Sky Lark dropped the crate in front of the team, lazily unslinging his halberd as he took a few paces until he was a meter or two away from them. With a flourish, the silent boy buried his blade into the ground at an angle with the handle pointing in the direction of the Goliath. With deft hands, the boy slid the handle downwards and apart, leaving two small stands for remaining pipe to prop itself against. Now with only one third of the handle remaining, the silver plated boy drew a thick metal cylinder from his pouch and slid it into the tube. Without being bid, the trio halted their assault on the Goliath and hastily drew back to group.

Plugging his ears and gesturing for the others to do the same, Sky pressured a button near the base of his buried blade and hit the ground next to it. Blocking her ears, Ruby's mouth fell open as the cylinder shot from the tube and flew a lazy arc towards the now-free Goliath…only to explode into a glorious rain of fire and death. Explosions billowed out from its impact on the beast's back, tearing off chunks of hardened flesh and splitting bone. The mask of the creature all but blew apart of the unrelenting barrage of death that rained upon it knocked any trace of life out of its mutilated corpse. Ruby tore her eyes from the terrifyingly beautiful scene to see Jaune covering his eyes, and Nora looking like she would never close them again if her face was anything to go off of. Ren nervously looked between Nora and the fireball of death, clearly knowing exactly what she was thinking and clearly being terrified at the possibilities this presented.

Upon scanning her the now empty clearing, Ruby saw how beautiful the clearing really was. The sun shone through the cracks in the trees and the birds had begun to return to their nests with the end of the fighting.

' _I'm alive…'_

"So…." Jaune began, all eyes turning to him, "What have you guys been up to?"

Ruby felt that now was a good time to pass out.

* * *

 **Hello readers! It's Jupitermonkey4 here, coming to you live from a brand new story! Shout out to TimmyTam0907 for beta reading :D**

 **This story is going to be focused on expanding CRDL's backstories and abilities beyond what we've seen in the show. No, this isn't fic centered around CRDL changing who they are in their entirety, or about them all getting along in the end. Its going to be a story about people with real problems and twisted, cold hard logic. Obviously, characters will develop beyond their current states, but I intend to follow the characters as far as we have seen personality wise. RDL are all blank slates, and I will be exercising creative liberties with how I personally interpret them beyond being douchebags. I have a plan surrounding how I want this story to go, so you don't have to worry about poorly contrived plot :) i hope to update soon, so stay tuned!**

 **leave a review, and if you enjoyed this chapter then follow and favourite :D**

 **~cheers!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Peace._

 _The waters of the slumber that coursed through Ruby's mind seemed to sooth every ache and pain in her body, even the ones she had apparently long since gotten used to. It was as though she was lying down in a pool of cool spring water, her body just barely immersed. She could feel the darkness that surrounded her, yet almost felt like she could see clear as day._

 _It was a feeling Ruby hadn't felt since her days at Beacon. Back then, the only things they had to worry about were failing grades and failing love. Even her own team's investigations had seemed to take a backseat to their daily school life. 'Oh man. My team…' She thought 'I haven't even thought about them these past few days except-'_

 _Except when she was going to die._

 _And just like that, her peace collapsed, as the waters slowly grew murky, and lacked the pristine quality she had grown accustomed to, the aches of her body did not return – but her mind began to adopt an unwelcome yet familiar pressure at its back._

 _She had almost died hadn't she? The hollow eyes of an infinity without her friends or sunlight stared back into her own, a deep shade of red. The Pale Rider had come to stake his claim on the Reaper, and yet she wasn't dead. Her black surroundings almost convinced her she was, but the thrum of her lifeblood under her skin and her soul slowly extending outwards to illuminate the smothering darkness said otherwise._

 _Ruby wasn't sure how._

 _Divine intervention or not, the most unlikely of people in her life did what she herself had failed in her efforts to become…they were heroes._

 _The very thought almost stung her mind, the very idea of bigots as knights in shining white armor was instinctively repulsive. But what she had seen was almost undeniable._

 _Four knights charging to save the day at the last second, the dawn breaking through the stormy clouds and darkness that threatened to choke humanity out. There they faced the oldest enemy of both mankind – and Faunus - Ruby made sure to add, and did not falter. Three boys who had abandoned their friend to an Ursa now stood with their very same leader and_ _did not falter_ _._

 _Ruby wasn't entirely sure how she felt about destiny or divine providence, but she was sure, as Blake was part cat, that it didn't normally arrive in the form of Cardin- "butthead" -Winchester! While the man had certainly eased up on his attacks against students after his encounter with Jaune, he was still a cruel and unkind teenager. He wasn't even supposed to be a good fighter! Brute strength could only carry a huntsman so far, and while he did not lack from it – he sure lacked skill. They all did! Minus Dove Bronzewing of course, but he was hardly on par with any of her friends._

 _But then again, she had only ever seen them face off against large numbers of smaller Grimm or fellow hunters-in-training…_

* * *

" **Of course!** ' Ruby rocketed awake and sat upright immediately, nearly head-butting Cardin right in the jaw. "That's how you guys got into Beacon! You're actual-honest-to-Dog monster hunters!" Ruby cried in barely contained joy at the implications of such talent and the fact that she now understood the long standing confusion about CRDL.

Her joy was cut short when she realized everyone was silent and staring at her. Suddenly sheepish, she muttered "they kill big things well…" she finished with a bit of triumph leaking into her voice.

"So how long have I been carrying an awake runt?" grunted the voice of the teen she had almost head-butted a few minutes ago. Suddenly hyper-aware, Ruby felt an unfamiliar warmth of two arms – one along her back and one underneath her knees. Next she noticed her position, several feet above the ground, and previously resting lengthwise. And finally, she slowly turned her head to meet indigo eyes that mixed with annoyance and mild amusement at her realization.

Cardin had been carrying her bridal-style while she passed out in his arms. 'Probably drooled too...' she internally whimpered at the embarrassing situation she found herself in as she stared at the orange hair boy with shell-shocked terror. The familiar weight of her cloak was gone, and instead she found herself in one of her spare black tank tops and loose pink gym shorts – almost definitely Nora's. Around her right thigh was a thick wrap of bandages with a little bit of dried blood that had pooled at the surface of the cloth, and several cute pink Band-Aids with cats on them as well covering the scratches and scrapes that dotted her legs. Her arm rested in a sling, though she could feel her Aura had already begun to mend her apparently fractured forearm, she noted with a wince as she tried to move it.

Despite all of her injuries, Ruby felt overjoyed. On their makeshift forest path, sunlight was breaking through certain patches of foliage, bathing her in warmth. Ahead of her, Nora and Ren were already walking towards her from their positions at the front of the group beside Sky. They were covered in bandages similar to hers, but Ruby was relieved to notice that they were walking steadily on their own two feet, Nora being the better off of the two as she had been carried away rather than beaten by an angry elephant and snake. Nora was sporting a green hoodie and track pants, while Ren wore a black V-neck with torn jeans. Further behind them and technically at the front of the pack was Russel atop a particularly large root that easily rose above them, squinting at their surroundings, his typical frown firmly cemented on his face. His outfit was the same as before, but now his hood had been tossed back, freeing his pale-green Mohawk to the elements.

A loud cough at her ears roughly shook Ruby out of her observations, turning back once more to Cardin who grunted in clear annoyance "Do you mind getting off of me now?" the tower of a man questioned. Blushing deeply at the fact that she had completely forgotten to get out the gruff man's loveless hold, Ruby nodded and lowered her feet towards the leaf-covered ground. "Easy now, I don't want to have to keep carrying you anymore, there's a reason we're at the back of the pack." Warned Cardin, attentive eyes watching her every move as she lowered one foot to the ground. Needless to say, the attention was mildly uncomfortable, but she was hardly in a position to complain. As her left foot graced the ground, she felt a surge of confidence underfoot as it held no pressure ' _that's a good sign right?'_ Ruby mused internally as she swung her right leg out of Cardin's arms and onto the ground.

"Wrong move!" was all Ruby could choke out as pain lanced through her bloody knee like a hot steel going straight through her nervous system. If a neuron could only be firing at full force or inactive, it certainly felt like every one of them was firing. At each other.

Swaying instinctively off of her injured leg, Ruby's poor positioning sent her back into the arms of a decidedly annoyed Cardin. "Leg ain't good yet is it, Short Stop?" said the ginger, a sadistic humor leaking into his voice. ' _Well that was unsettling'_ Ruby thought in discomfort at the sadist who had carried her for god-knows-how long. "You knew?!" the redhead hissed, rapidly losing all sense of gratitude for the snob. "Well, yeah – I am the one who wrapped it after all." Ruby's eyebrow raised as she glanced at the professionally wrapped leg, "Your Aura should have taken care of it by no-"

Any further musing was rapidly shut down by the energetic cries of a skipping Nora, now a couple meters ahead of the striding Ren. Beaming, she leapt and landed with a "Boop," in front of the duo. "Ruby! I'm so glad you're awake!" she cried as her eyes grew watery and attempted to crush Ruby's merely mortal bones underneath a hug more terrifying than any Grimm. Before the fear could properly register in her mind, a calm hand clasped over the pink berserkers shoulders – followed by Ren sighing "Nora, please don't put Ruby back into a coma."

The girl in question merely giggled before pulling Ruby into a tight, yet gentle embrace from within Cardin's hold (who merely rolled his eyes at the reunion). "I really am glad you're awake…" whispered Nora, her jovial mood gone as pale blue eyes looked deep into silver and words unspoken exchanged between each other, their meaning only known between the two of them.

" _I couldn't deal with losing anyone else"_

Smiling softly, Ruby returned the embrace, sniffling softly before Nora lifted her from Cardin's grasp and held her firm as they both began to weep their hearts out, the pain and agony they both felt sung in harmony with the relief and joy of seeing the other alive. After a few minutes, Nora placed Ruby back into Cardin's arms in a bridal-style and Ren strode forward, "It's good to have you back Ruby." Wiping her eyes, the fifteen year old grinned through her tear-streaked face and exclaimed "it's good to be back, Ren." That was all he said as he stepped backwards and turned, reaching out a hand with a small smile spreading across his normally emotionless features while he gestured for them all to continue forward.

"So," Ruby began, "how long have I been out?"

"Well I've been carrying you for about a day and a half" stated Cardin with a snort, earning a sharp glance from Nora before she turned back and began to divulge information at an alarming rate. "After CRDL saved us, which was totally weird by the way, Sky packed up his awesome mortar cannon explosion thingy-" she glanced at Ren and she chose her next words carefully "-which I have no intention of replicating…" A raised eyebrow, "Ever. We started to check over everyone's injuries, which is when the skin on your knee kind of…popped!" she finished with a grin, despite Cardin's wince and Ren's grimace as they each remembered the sight respectively. "Cardin was on it pretty quick, whipping out needles and bandages and everything! It was pretty awesome, actually." She added, earning her a derisive snort. Plowing ever onwards, Nora continued, "You passed out, and when everyone was getting wrapped up by Sky and Cardin, Russel and Dove searched the wreckage for any of our left over gear and they salvaged what they could, but we aint exactly got a lot of clothes right now. Though –" She added with a nod to Russel up on the root, eyes scanning the treeline for an easy route for his wounded party to pass through, "Russel made sure he didn't go through our lady-things, and waited for Ren and me to come get them!"

That last part earned a raised eyebrow from Ruby, as the slightly pink Ren focused on a very interesting tree branch on the other side of the forest. Cutting into the momentary silence, Cardin spoke up "So why am I the one carrying the twerp while you can clearly do it just fine?" Nora beamed in response as she twirled around and showed her bandaged stomach and giggled "Nah. Can't!" Ren stepped in and tutted as he exclaimed "Nora! I warned you not to move too much. Your wound opened up again!" He raised a palm to his face as Nora simply stuck her tongue out at him while he applied fresh bandages to her midriff.

"Anyways," she cheerily continued as Ren finished his work, "we wanted to stay and rest while we waited for you to wake up, but both Jaune and Cardin agreed that we needed to get you to the hospital as fast as possible." The unspoken sentence of 'who'da thunk?' echoed to all parties of the conversation.

That was certainly a surprise for Ruby, as she tried to imagine the two of them smiling and nodding at the same idea. The image made her head hurt as she went through a mental checklist to see if she was still concussed from her fall. Suddenly going stock still, Ruby turned to look Cardin in the eyes – who in turn merely blinked once to acknowledge her existence.

"Cardin…" her voice shot clear warning at the man, despite its pitch, "Where is Jaune?" she finished, suspicion clear on her face as she recalled the one time their teams went down to Vale for a few hours and Jaune stayed behind because of his motion sickness, and they found him walking around and bumping into walls in the school basement with a toilet bowl stuck to his head. They all tried to get him out until Yang got fed up and literally smashed his head against the wall and broke the ceramic. While Jaune was grateful, Ruby wasn't entirely sure what the worse option out of the two was.

Cardin's eyes merely hardened as he met hers, any possible mirth was gone from those indigo pools. "Jauney-Boy thought he should go on ahead to Mistral while we slowly made our way back and get help," he scoffed, raising his pitch so that it cracked a bit as he imitated Jaune "Maybe even get a Bullhead!" This earned him a single "Ha!" from the root Russel and Sky were currently sending a rope ladder down, the noise coming from Russel obviously as Sky just smirked at the recollection. Still smiling at his own joke, Cardin turned his gaze from his teammates up ahead only to see a scowling Nora, a shaking head from Ren and an intense sense of worry coming out from Ruby as her pleading eyes looked up at him. Sighing slightly, he continued and did very little to hide his distaste from his voice "It's not like I left him to die! You three would never have let me hear the end of it! So Dove drew the short straw and I sent him along with your bumbling idiot to make sure he doesn't die under some rock." Still frowning at Cardin's poor choice of words, Ruby turned her head back towards the path they were following, only allowing her frown to fall when he clearly couldn't see her face as a smile swiftly replaced it.

' _Yay! Jaune's safe! That's…surprisingly unexpected'_ she realized as they stopped in front of the loose ladder. Ren and Nora, seemingly familiar with this procedure, began to scale the large root. Ruby watched as the climbed almost ten feet of old gnarly tree, with Sky and Russel pulling them over the side. Realizing she would have to climb with her upper-body strength alone, Ruby clasped the rope and began to pull, only to have Cardin tear her away with a quizzical tone in his voice "What are you even doing?"

Ruby turned back to him and crossed her arms, and did her best to seem agitated like Weiss, but only ended up looking like she was denied a cookie at the age of four. "Trying to climb the ladder?" she said, placing extra emphasis on the word _trying._ A snort echoed from high above as she saw Russel standing over the edge of the root, stretching his arms above his head before lowering them towards her and wriggling his fingers. "You idiot, you can hardly sit up properly. Just try not to panic when Russel lifts you alright?"

Before she could respond, she found herself gently lifting out of Cardin's arms, her eyes growing wide as a strong gust of wind rose up from beneath her – much to Cardin's clear amusement. She slowly rose a few inches, then a foot. Soon, she was rising towards the top of the root. Her eyes darted around on instinct as she searched for something to grab hold of, but to no avail. Doing her best to remain calm, she did everything she could to ease the rumblings in her stomach as flashes of the crash began to flood back to her.

 _Falling. Screaming. Explosions. A complete loss of control oh god oh god no no no no-_

Her eyes snapped open as she felt two firm hands clasp around her waist, plucking her out of the air. Glancing behind her, she looked into the eyes of Sky Lark, CRDL's resident mute. Her breathing steadied as she grabbed a hold of his plate mailed arms in fear, looking right into his eyes. The man just gave a simple, unquestioning nod as he sat her down on the root, taking great care with her leg. "You good?" asked Russel, the winds calming down once more as he deactivated his semblance. She simply nodded, to which he simply turned back to face further down the path. Peering over the now-much-less-terrifying edge, Ruby saw Cardin patting his hands together with some dirt and spit – which was gross Ruby noted, and seemed to prepare for his own ascent, only to watch as the ladder next to her began to rise and wiggle as Sky began rolling it up. Confused, she asked Russel, "Why is he rolling it up?" the hooded man turned to look at he, his frown not disappearing as he snorted and called over the edge, "because Cardin is too **fat** to climb a ladder!"

The tower of a man roared in indignant rage as he leapt towards the root, causing Ruby to squeak in surprise as he punch a hole into the tree, using swinging his other fist higher up, and repeated this process, using lower holes as foot rests. Reaching the lip of the root, Cardin tried to take a swing at Russel before even getting his feet under solid footing again – which Russel dodged neatly, a small smirk appearing on his stony visage. Nora guffawed at the situation while Ren merely chuckled. After a minute or two of swinging and kicking, the party got back on their way.

When Ruby voiced her question on how she was to get down, Cardin merely picked her up again and jumped off the tree and landed on the forest floor with a thump. As the party descended one by one, Ruby took the time to ask Russel, "So your Semblance is that you can control wind?" her awe overwhelmed any sense of subtlety she may have possessed. Her question earned her a nod, though she hardly registered it as she imagined herself flying through the air like a super hero.

 _A super hero that can't fall._

"So why don't you just lift everyone over every object?"

The teen sighed and rubbed his eyes in his tired annoyance with the young girl and simply stated "I can't and don't want to lift everyone every five seconds, not to mention how fat Car-" he was stopped as the man in question growled from above Ruby, " **Watch it, Russ."** He spat. The threat shut the boy up, but Ruby still caught sight of a flash of teeth as he pulled his hood back up and over his head.

* * *

Three hours had passed in relative silence as the group hiked through the forest, neither party really having anything to say beyond a few words here and there. Ruby had offered several times that Cardin could take a break if he needed to, or that she could try and walk again. Most times he merely ignored her, while others he would snort in derision – continuing his ceaseless march.

Ruby took this time to contemplate about talking to Cardin about their mission was, but ultimately realized that while they had saved them all, they weren't necessarily allies yet. They were still the mean spirited boys from Beacon who had just so happened to be near-

Just like that it hit her. _'I didn't even ask how they found us! Ugh. Weiss was right, I really am a dolt…'_ Clearing her throat, she tapped on Cardin's shoulder, knocking him out of his daze as he looked down at her and moaned "Ugh…what now?" Sheepish for a second, Ruby quickly pressed forwards before she floundered as usual and ended up blurting out "How-did-you-find-us?" she shot out in one breath. Cardin paused for a beat – and Ruby felt nervous and awkward, almost as though she had stepped on a landmine.

Her fears were unfounded, however, when the man let out a deep-bellied laugh that she had never heard before. She had heard his sneers and deriding guffaws, but this was something different it was almost… _good natured._

After a few seconds, he finally stopped laughing and looked at her and gasped out "Are you freakin' serious? You guys got hit by a Nevermore, caught on fire and exploded in the middle of the night in a forest! It didn't take much to realize that someone may need our help. We had been camped nearby and it was my watch, and we hurried towards crash. I made Sky carry the supplies because he's the worst fighter by far," This earned him an upturned finger from the blue haired mute up ahead, to which he snorted and continued with a more serious tone, "I'll be honest though, I wasn't expecting you four of all people. Speaking of which, what exactly are you doing this far away from Vale?" he finished, punctuating this by kicking a rotten log that was in his path completely apart rather than jumping over it like the rest of the group.

Ruby stiffened. She really didn't want to tell him anything – he didn't deserve to know how they felt. How she felt. How **Jaune** felt. He could tell she was tense, and looked down at her as he tried to figure out what her deal was. She merely looked away and muttered "I don't want to talk about it."

Much to her surprise, he didn't press any further, and responded with "We all got secrets, Shorty."

They walked in awkward silence for a few minutes – Ruby's arch-nemesis – until the trees began grow slimmer and the roots began to grow shallow. Soon enough, they broke out of the treeline and onto a clear Cliffside that overlooked one of the most beautiful landscapes Ruby had ever seen.

Down the cliffs ran a huge field of whistling grass that seemed to shiver with the wind. On the far side of the filed lay a breathtaking mountain range that reached high into the skies, so high that Ruby couldn't see beyond the clouds that hid their peaks. In the grassy valley between the two barriers was a small river, at least from Ruby's view, which wound all the way towards her right, leading straight into a humongous lakebed that seemed even larger than the sea between Patch and Vale! To her left, she could see a long white wall that boxed in the field, standing firm in-between the two mighty natural barriers of stone, the cliffside and the mountain range. On the sandy white shores of the lake rested a beautiful city unlike anything Ruby had come across.

The city had a large outer wall that spanned a few miles, encompassing the lower districts of the city and factories. Beyond that lay another wall with majestic heraldic symbols flying in the wind though – she couldn't properly see what rested on them. At the top of this City rested a massive structure that could only be a CCT tower, much like the one they had in Vale. ' _though with the one in Vale being destroyed, this one wouldn't be working properly…'_ Ruby shook out those thoughts. With those memories, she wouldn't be able to admire what laid in front of her. She could deal with that later. Much later.

Her eyes met Cardin's for what seemed to be the ten-billionth time today, he merely waved his hand dismissively towards the city and stated "Welcome to Mistral, slack-jaws. It aint all that it's cracked up to be." His point was hammered home as a Bullhead rose up from below the cliff's edge.

* * *

A few minutes later, and they were standing (or in Ruby's case, carried) in front of a big white Villa outside the city limits. Jaune had met them on the Bullhead, his sickness overcome by his worry over Ruby's obvious injuries and sending several glares towards Cardin, which she abated by saying "Naw, don't worry about it. Cardin just carried me for like three days, I think you should cut him some slack." Jaune merely stared at her with a blank look on his face, perplexing her until she realized what she had just said.

' _Did I just defend Cardin Winchester? What on earth is wrong with me?! To be fair, he did save our lives…and carry me… and he wasn't that different from Blake when she's annoyed, so it wasn't so bad when he wasn't talking… Maybe he isn't such a jerk after all?'_

"Yeah Arc, lay off. It didn't help that she was way heavier than I expected."

' _Yeah. Nope. Still a jerk.'_

Dove had been pretty quiet on the return flight, talking calmly with Cardin for a few minutes as he relayed a message, to which Cardin hissed in frustration before he moved to go speak with the pilot.

Rather than go to the hospital as planned, the group had been dropped off at this- Ruby took note of the heavy automated turrets that sat on the walls of the manor, clearly identifying them as friendlies – heavily defended miniature castle.

Sighing, Cardin placed his helmet on and pushed the heavy mahogany doors of the small castle open to reveal a large courtyard. Before them laid an ornate carved pathway that led to the steps of the manor. To either side of the path stood tall men in armor and helmets very much like Cardin's own armor, except they wore a deep sea-blue with golden borders along their vambraces and chest plates. In their hands rested simple steel cudgels, very much like Cardin's mace but to a much smaller degree. They also held kite shields with a similar colour scheme to their armor, with a golden border surrounding the simple blue steel of the shield. Emblazoned on them was the same crest on Cardin; a golden Phoenix rising. They locked their shields together, forming two steel walls on either side of them. Not a single solider spoke or moved.

In the courtyard rested four great flags that billowed in the winds. Three were black, while the remaining one showed Cardin's crest once again. Cardin began walking forwards, Jaune holding Ruby's arm rather than letting her walk on her own or carrying her. The eight of them reached the steps, where in team CRDL dropped on one knee and bowed their heads towards the great ornate doors that led further inside. Before Russel could tell them to kneel, the great doors swung open.

Standing in the doorway was a behemoth of a man. Standing at almost seven feet tall, the stranger was only made more imposing by his muscular physique that could still be seen underneath all of his armor.

His armor was another matter entirely.

It was pitch-black, covering a large portion of his body, while gold-tinted chainmail covered what it could not. Emblazoned on his chest rested the very same symbol she had seen plastered everywhere – yet she could tell that it did not belong to Cardin. No, the sigil belonged to him. Resting on his arm was a great-axe that was taller than her. Its edges a simple silver-sheen as the steel shone in the daylight, while the shaft it was seated on was made of a familiar red metal that Ruby couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.

But most frightening of all? The man' face.

He wore no helmet, instead option to let his bright orange pony tail go free as wind whipped the courtyard. He had a bushy orange beard, one that even Weiss would be proud to own. His eyes were a narrow and weathered pair, radiating cold and stern authority that sent shivers to her very core. His mouth was set firmly shut, his brow furrowed in contemplation as he stood at the very top of the steps and looked down on them.

Suddenly, his mouth shout open and a deep, rolling voice boomed out "The Phoenix shall rise again!" causing Ruby to leap in fright, almost falling back onto her bad-leg if Jaune hadn't caught her. All around them, the guards and CRDL boomed back in loud unison that hurt Ruby's ears "The Phoenix shall rise again!"

His scowl not shifting, the Lord of the manor slowly walked down the steps, stopping in front of Jaune, who was liable to break down into tears from his fear at any moment as the scariest man they had ever seen stood above him.

"So you're an Arc, yes?"

"…"

"Speak up, boy!"

A loud gulp, and then to Ruby's immense pride, her friend looked the Lord in the eyes and said "Y-yes sir. Jaune Arc."

A few seconds passed… and the strangest thing they had seen yet happened.

The man broke into a wide, toothy grin as warmth poured into his previously dead-cold eyes. "WONDERUL!" he boomed, "How are Elizabeth and Louis?"

Silence reigned once more, until Jaune began, his fear lost in the midst of complete and utter bafflement, "Uh. S-si-?"

"Please, call me Henry."

"Uh. H-henry? H-how do you know my p-p-parents?"

"Why, my boy, that's quite simple really!" he threw his arm around the boy, causing Jaune to slump under the considerable weight, and pulled him around so the two of them faced the courtyard;

"We were teammates!" he beamed.

Cardin audibly retched inside his helmet.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! Jupitermonkey4 here! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it took a bit longer to get out than I would have liked, but school hit me hard this past week. I really appreciate the reviews, follows and Favorited - the feedback really motivates writers like myself, so thanks a lot!**

 **Shout out to my Beta _TimmyTam0907!_** **You dah best! I would recommend you go check out his story "Kingdom Come"! It's a phenomenal story and he is updating quite frequently.**

 **That's all I have to say, so until next time - Cheers!**

 **Edit: I noticed some glaring errors that really bugged me so I reposted the chapter :p**


	3. Chapter 3

_The sun had begun to set over the Leon Forest, casting orange and red rays towards Mistral. Farmers returned from the fields they toiled in, merchants closed up their shops and the evening guard took their positions along the mighty wall that boxed the canyon in. A warm breeze fluttered gently down the streets of the lower ward, promising those who lacked shelter that they would have a peaceful night's rest._

 _Many would call it the perfect end to a beautiful day, a testimony that for everything that had happened in Vale two months ago – the world could still be beautiful._

 _But darkness would wait for no one. Especially for beauty, as hands began to work once more in the darkest parts of the city…_

* * *

Silence reigned in the courtyard aside from Cardin's dry heaving into his helmet at the sheer absurdity of what he had just heard. Ruby herself didn't even register that her mouth hung wide open until a particularly adventurous fly attempted to make its way in, to which she promptly swatted the insect away and shut her gaping maw closed. Peering down the line of former students, Ruby gauged the reactions of the various members.

Cardin's reaction was obvious, as he stood and tore off his helmet to reveal his slightly pale face as well as a furrowed brow while his furious eyes searched his father for any sign that this was some cruel and twisted joke. Russel drew his hood over his eyes and was clearly attempting to erase the mental image of Jaune and Cardin being friends. Dove glanced from side to side – for what reason the blind man had for doing this, Ruby wasn't sure – before looking to the sky and shrugging. Sky had the most positive reaction to this development, his eyes lazily trailed to his side and met Ruby's own. He merely allowed a knowing smirk to grace his narrow features before turning back to observe the beaming Lord.

As they processed "Henry's" answer, a guard in armor similar to the various guards that lined the courtyard walked through the doors. A simple longsword sat on his hip as he strode down the steps towards the large man in black armor. While his armor held the same detail as his fellow guards, his held a silver inlay instead of gold. Atop his head rested a blue bascinet helm, its long pointed horn pointing forwards. From the top of his shoulders flew a short silver cape that trailed swiftly behind him as he marched.

Realizing that even Cardin and his team had no idea what had just happened, Ruby turned towards her friends next to her, and found a disturbingly similar response.

Ren's face twitched slightly as he attempted to contain his surprise. To his right, Nora's eyes brimmed with mirth as she struggled to not explode with laughter that would certainly open all of her wounds again, and probably Ren's too if the giggles and heaving of her chest were any indication at the size of her potential laughter. The large man's smile stood strong as he saw Ren, Ruby and Nora's reactions, but faltered when he saw his own son radiating negative energy. Below his arm, a weak force pushed against him and simply whimpered:

"Wait. What?" the blond was craning his neck upwards to look at the man who had unknowingly began crushing him and was slowly forcing the young boy to the ground. Ruby had to admit, it looked kinda funny.

This utterance from who Cardin almost definitely viewed as one of the weakest and dumbest people he had met was the single spark needed to set Cardin's barely controlled rage blasting into outer space. While Cardin had ceased harassment of Jaune and his friends after the incident at the forest of Forever Fall, his anger-management problems were still a very common occurrence. His violent tendencies made him notably reckless during sparring, once head-butting Neptune when he lost his weapon in a practice match before the tournament. The subsequent shock from Neptune's glaive did nothing to halt his assault, but only spurned him forwards to nail his forehead against the bluenette once more. He failed to realize that the shock had lowered his aura quite drastically at the time, and his final head-butt barely put himself past the threshold, causing him to lose the match.

' _That certainly didn't help his mood'_ Ruby recollected, briefly wondering if they ever managed to fill in all the holes around Beacon as she watched Cardin whip his helmet at the ground – breaking up some of the stone tiling and completely flattening the master forged helmet into a crude gold and steel pancake. _'uhhhhhh something tells me they didn't…'_ Ruby audibly gulped as Cardin stomped forwards, shaking his fist at the teenager underneath his father's arm.

"What the hell do you mean 'I was on a team with them'?!" The teen shouted, causing Henry's eyes to narrow, crushing the warmth that was once held within them as he watched his son's face turn a fiery shade of red in his anger. "How the hell could someone who birthed this wretch-" he pointed at Jaune, who did his best to not topple over, "be on a team with someone like you?! People who didn't even properly train their own damn s-" he was silenced as Henry released his hold on Jaune and took a single step towards his son and rose to his full height.

Ruby would be the first to agree with anyone who claimed Cardin was pretty dang tall. The ginger haired boy stood at almost 6"2' and practically loomed over everyone else present. But standing next to his father?

He was like an _insect._

Henry had always been standing at his full height, but now it felt like this was his **true** height. He extended his aura outwards, allowing his powerful presence and dominating stance to wash over everyone present. It took everything Ruby had to not use her semblance and book it away from the two titans who seemed liable to clash at any moment – bad leg or no. The previously silent guards began to shake and some of their armor rattled at the wave of negative energy that poured out of the two of them, but held their shield wall firm.

The silver caped guard was halfway down the steps when he saw his lord take a step forwards, and stopped mid-step and slowly placed his hand to the hilt of his blade, though his stance indicated he was less than worried. For who, Ruby couldn't say.

A beat passed between the father and son, and to Cardin's credit, he didn't back down. An instant later, Ruby heard a sharp whistle as Henry swung his humongous axe with one hand and buried it into a solid marble lion that was standing proudly on a pedestal on the side of the steps – cutting clean through its neck and sending its head crashing to the ground right in front of Cardin.

" **Dearest.** _Son."_ The lord in black began, leaving his axe buried in the now deceased statue as he took a large step forwards and came face to face with Cardin. A blur crossed Ruby's line-of-sight as the lord smacked the boy upside the head with a metallic _*bonk*._ "Never disrespect the Arc's. **Ever.** We will speak more of this at a later date." With a curt wave of his hand behind him towards the man in the silver cape, he bent over, picked up the crushed helmet and placed it in his son's hand, speaking calmly this timeas Cardin refused to meet his eyes. _"_ Take your team and write up your reports for Haven's headmaster and myself. I will speak to you tonight at length as to what has transpired while you were away. There is much to discuss." At this, Cardin raised his head and looked at his father with shame in his eyes, but also some thinly veiled curiosity. Bowing swiftly, he turned and marched past him and entered the Villa. His teammates rose silently and bowed in unison before making haste to follow suit.

' _None of them even looked back'_ noted Ruby with a small pout forming on her lips as she watched the retreating forms, unsure why she felt aggravated that none of them had even said bye. It wasn't like she was THAT desperate for friends, but it kind of reinforced the whole _"Cardin is still a butt"_ theme she was noticing recently.

The guard in the silver cape walked past her as he strode down the shield walls and whistled once before rotating his hand above his head. Without another word, the guards broke their walls apart and formed two even squares on both sides of the courtyard and marched around their respective sides of the manor towards what was presumably their barracks in the back.

Watching the men and women march off, Ruby couldn't help but feel awed by the disciplined might of the Winchester troops that had been on display. A loud cough snapped her attention forwards again as she spun to face Henry, a small smile reappearing on his face along with slowly warming eyes – his intimidating nature had quickly been swallowed back into whatever depths it crawled out of as swiftly as it came. She noticed that Jaune had rejoined them where they stood, Ren and Nora also rapidly facing the man as they also must have been staring.

And who wouldn't? In all the time they had been training to be hunters, none of them had really seen anything of this caliber before. Sure, Atlas had advanced A.I. in their androids, but they were too mindless and weak to be intimidating. The human part of the Atlas military was either busy flying the ships or moving around in small groups of two or three, nothing to really draw your attention away as they patrolled Vale. Hunters themselves were powerful, but with their unique fighting styles and weaponry, they couldn't form a coherent and disciplined force. The vast difference in their personalities and training made it impossible for them to pose any large scale threat, while a disciplined army of uniformly trained soldiers could bring down a city in days.

The fact that they had such a force merely sitting in their backyard was rather breathtaking.

Refocusing her attention on Henry, Ruby realized the man had started talking, and she quickly tried to hone in on what he was saying.

"-ude. Let me know if he crosses you all again in a negative fashion. Since we are alone," He waved at now-barren courtyard that held only himself, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and the guard with a white cape who had taken his place once more by the large man's side. "It is quite clear you are not the closest of friends, but you are all still Hunters and Huntresses in training, and are equal regardless of birth." Stretching his arm out in front of team RNJR, the big man nodded in an encouraging fashion. "When I had gotten the call from Dove that they encountered several ex-students on their patrol, I insisted you be brought here so that you could be looked at properly by my personal physicians – though he failed to mention your names. So, if you would be so kind…?"

Ren, ever the paragon of control, kept his voice steady and soothing as he clasped the man's hand and shook it once as he simply said "Lie Ren."

Nora shot her arm forwards when the lord turned to face her, meeting his smile with her own that nearly doubled in size. Gripping the others hand, Nora shook his vigorously – to which Ren and Ruby paled at the sight, each remembering the story of how Nora had once dislocated a soldier's shoulder when she was ten. Ren confirmed it actually wasn't an exaggeration.

However, Henry merely laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded towards Jaune. "She has quite the grip doesn't she?" he commented as she giggled and drew his attention back towards the red-head. "Nora Valkyrie! At your service! By the way, Big-H, the way you swung your axe was _soooooo_ cool! It was all like "WOOSH" and "SH-UNK" and-" She stopped as Ren placed a hand over her mouth and sighed blissfully.

Finally, the big man now stood right in front of Ruby, who had to take a good second to appreciate just how frikkin massive the dude was! "Wow." She whispered, the awe plain in her voice, "You're even taller up-close…" She mentally smashed her head against a wall and then threw herself down a flight of stairs. _'Stupid Ruby! Awkward Ruby! The man can eat rocks for breakfast and you flop out, what's wro-'_ her inner-monologue that was starting to disturbingly sound like Weiss was cut short by the hearty chuckle from the good natured man who whispered in return "Yes, I've been told that more than once."

Realizing she had failed to clasp his hand, she raced to meet him as she sputtered out "Rose Ru-, I mean, Ruby Rose!" she shot out in one breath.

Realization dawned on the man's face as he spoke her last name once more, "Did you say your last name was 'Rose'?" he asked, seemingly startled for the first time since they met.

Before she could answer the question, pain exploded in her knee unlike anything she had ever felt before. She had unknowingly been slowly evening out her body's pressure and weight, shattering whatever was still intact in her knee. Crying out in pain, Ruby collapsed forwards, only to be caught by Henry, who was already being rushed by Jaune and the silver caped guard to take her out of his hands. He merely brushed them off, hoisted her up and placed her on one of his broad shoulders, causing Ruby to let out a 'Meep!' despite her pain. Blood dripped freely out of her leg and onto the man's armor and clearly incredibly expensive mail and décor. Yet, Ruby found herself unable to object while she gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep the pain from forcing her to pass out.

"Captain Gilles!" the silver caped man stood at attention, "Run ahead and inform the infirmary to prepare for a wounded patient. We will be along shortly!"

The second Henry finished, the guard now known as Captain Gilles was already dashing inside, cape whipping in the wind. Upon finding Ruby was secure on his shoulder, the man began walking swiftly and steadily past the two marble pillars that flanked the doors, Team JPR right on his heels in their worry.

* * *

With the sudden change in lighting and temperature, Ruby managed to crack open one eye and observe her surroundings.

The group was briskly walking down a long corridor with plain and clearly worn down stone floor. The ground felt rather exposed and bare in comparison to the ornate picture frames and portraits that adorned both of the long walls that ran on either side of her. As they passed, Ruby saw many scenes from history.

There were portraits of men with orange hair and faint smiles, as well as men with scowls in golden clothing. There were paintings of ladies at dinner parties and balls, and paintings of epic scenes of battle with knights riding horses off of cliff sides and into teeming swarms of artistically interpreted creatures of Grimm. Some showed men of great kindness and virtue as they fed the poor outside the white walls of what could only be Mistral, while others showed slaves and beggars being beaten about with maces and clubs.

In all of these scenes, Ruby noticed they all had one thing in common. Whether on banners or dresses, shields or quilts, they all held a symbol that was becoming rapidly more prevalent as the paintings moved past.

A rising Phoenix.

Sometimes they would be painted masterfully, others sloppily. One showed a Phoenix in front of a cross along the armor of a priest's bodyguard, while another had it carved onto the bodies of fallen enemies. It was a beautiful and terrifyingly dark history that spanned the halls, leaving Ruby feeling like she had walked straight through a history book she had never bothered to read but definitely should have.

' _These paintings are the real-life representation of a checkered history.'_ Thought Ruby as she whisked past a particularly intense painting of a man with burning wings ripping off the legs of a devil and beating an angel with them.

The pain in her leg had begun to dim, allowing her to divert some of her attention further away at the manor. Henry had taken strides towards two decidedly beaten doors and simply kicked them open rather than take the time to open them. As they passed, Ruby could see the doors didn't even have any locks or doorknobs on them, choosing to instead rely on the positioning of the house to swing the doors back to resting positions and do their job, which was clearly to be kicked open by mildly annoyed lords.

Once they were clear of the doors, they came out into a small courtyard that wound around a garden in the middle of the manor. The roof was opened above it, allowing sunlight to beam through to the beautiful roses and other various flowers that burst from the various bushes and greenery. The garden was surrounded by ornate marble pillars that were much smaller than the two behemoths that stood outside, allowing one to simply walk through them and into the garden. The stone path now split, one path going to the right and another to the left. On either path was the option to take a turn towards and past the garden, leading deeper into the manor. On the right side, Ruby could definitely smell food, and the way Nora's nose was twitching reassured her she wasn't going loopy from all the blood loss.

 _Oh crap I'm bleeding on the nice man's armor._

"So-" Ruby gasped in pain as the large man miss-stepped and bounced her leg against his armor, "Sorry f-for bleeding a-a-all over your awesome a-rmor…" the little reaper managed to choke out. Without even looking at her, the man shrugged and nearly knocked her off, only to have Ren reach and steady her.

Pausing for a brief second as the man seemed to struggle with remembering where the infirmary was located, a bright look of realization dawned on his face as he took a step down the left path and away from the garden and delicious smells.

Now walking length wise of the manor, several stained-glass windows shown brilliant rays of colored sunlight from the courtyard into the narrower corridor that was dotted with ornate as well as plain doors.

Now taking the time to address Ruby, Henry spoke up "you don't need to worry about the armor, young lady. It merely adds to the effect!" he finished with a wink and a grin, though if the implication wasn't mildly unsettling Ruby would have eaten her combat boots. "Besides," he added "something like this can hardly compare to the pain you surely must be feeling, and I would rather you didn't lose anything you don't need to, especially a leg." He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially with the short red-head, "If you did, I think your friend Nora would be quite frustrated – and I quite like my house, thank you very much!" he finished by gesturing towards Nora with his free hand as Ren dragged her away from a door that held the ornate design of a sloth making pancakes in ancient Mistral.

This, despite the pain lancing through her leg, caused Ruby to giggle at the jovial man. She had to admit, he was really growing on her. Not only was he completely different from Cardin which had completely thrown her for a loop, but he seemed willing to even carry her without as much as a complaint! He had a comforting atmosphere to him, and while it may have seemed like an awkward position for Ruby to any passerby – thanks to her being perched on his shoulder like some kind of bleeding parrot, it was pretty comfortable. She realized that while she should have been scared at the implications of what was currently happening, she found she wasn't really worried, and was confident that everything would turn out okay. Looking around, she found that her teammates weren't too concerned either. Nora was her jovial and curious self, and Ren was doing his typical parent thing where he would observe the pink boomer until she went too far, in which case he would drag her away from the room that had a shadow slowly extending out from underneath it (Ruby wasn't even going to ask). Jaune was taking in everything with awe rather than cracking under his fear for Ruby and the potential outcomes she might be facing in a few minutes. Granted, he was still a nervous train-wreck but that was just a part of the whole Arc package.

After a few twists and turns, Jaune finally spoke up: "Uh…Sir?" he began, raising his hand slightly as he walked with the man like he was back in Beacon. "I thought I told you to call me **Henry**?" the man frowned, causing Jaune to gulp and practically broadcast that the man still scared the ever-loving-dork out of him.

"Urm…r-right! Henry! So I was wondering…" he trailed off, earning him a nudge from the large man and a nod, followed by a "go on."

"Well, I was wondering… what was it like to be on a team with my parents? They never really spoke about their days as huntsmen…" he finished with a slight pout, though his eyes gleamed expectantly.

Henry chuckled and shook his head as the memories flooded into his eyes. "Well first off all, your father was a huge worry-wart. He may look confident now, but back in his early the days the man brought flares to History class 'just in case something happened!'

* * *

 _Beacon, twenty five years ago:_

 _A blonde teen was sprawled on top of his desk, passed out from exhaustion after he had stayed up all night in a stakeout of the fridge in the student lounge to see who had been stealing the delicious fruit snacks he had expertly hid within the very bowels of the large machine. Next to him sat his teammate and partner, Henry Winchester. The orange haired teen next to him stared in disbelief as the boy dared to sleep through History class with one of the strictest teachers anyone in their year had ever encountered._

 _Clutched firmly in his hands was his pale green travel pack, absolutely stuffed to the brim with Oum-knows-what. Henry waited until the teacher turned her back to address the other half of the class before poking his teammate._

 _When he did not stir, Henry poked him again but far harder this time. Once again, he did not stir. Growing frustrated, Henry shook his partner aggressively and hissed "Louis, wake up already!"_

 _Suddenly, the blond exploded awake as he leapt onto the table with a mad look on his face as he screamed' "_ _ **Have you come to steal my eyes?!"**_ _before he ripped out a handful of flares and yanked their release pins, all while yelling at the top of his lungs "_ _ **Retreat! RETREAT!**_ _"_

 _Bursts of blinding fire exploded across the classroom, causing students to duck and shield themselves from the flashes of light that flew in all directions._

 _The history teacher could do nothing but watch from her position across the classroom as one flare streaked and curled wildly around the classroom…and flew right into her bookshelf filled with one of a kind books that had never been replicated, instantly setting the ancient pages alight to the sound of a maniacal Arc cackling at his 'Retreat'._

* * *

Ruby was laughing so hard that she could hardly hold herself up on her lofty perch. Ren and Nora had stopped messing around and filled in behind them in order to listen to the story as well, and maintained a smile and a giggling fit respectively. Jaune was just beaming as he imagined his stern father going completely mental in a classroom.

"The best part," wheezed Henry through the tears of laughter in his eyes, "was how it took them two days to pull him out of the chimney in downtown Vale that the teacher had shoved him down when she finally caught him before she stormed out of Vale and practically dropped off of the face of Remnant!"

"What about my mom? How was she in Beacon?" Jaune asked as his curiosity bubbled back up once more.

"Well, your mother was quite possibly the wittiest woman and prankster I have ever met, even to this day. Whether it was through a clever joke or comforting words, Liz always knew what to say." He sighed at his glory days, "She would always boast that she could talk an Ursa to sleep or make it laugh so hard it exploded, though I'm still holding reservation about one of those."

* * *

" _Stupid Liz and her stupid pranks…" grumbled Henry as he walked through the Emerald Forest, chopping down trees with his axe when he didn't feel like moving around it._

 _Elizabeth had made them all come out to the cliffs at the edge of the Emerald Forest to 'show them something cool'. Being the curious bunch that they were, the team made their way to the coordinates she had sent them._

 _When they arrived, they found her standing next to a rusty and moss covered sheet of metal, grinning like an idiot. She asked for Henry to stand on the sheet and face the forest. Confused, the teen complied and waited to see where she would be going with this idea._

 _All of a sudden, he was screaming and flying into the tree tops at 60 miles per hour, all while hearing a cackling laughter drift away behind him._

 _While he would never end up getting her back for the stunt, the air pad did come in handy when their Combat Instructor was hunting them down through the campus for cutting class and chased them to the cliffs, where they promptly used the pad to fly deep into the forest and towards their slightly extended freedom._

* * *

"And I'm pretty sure they still have it there if I'm not mistaken." The older man finished with confidence.

"Pretty sure? They made a crap-ton of them and threw us off a cliff for initiation! I didn't even have a landing strategy!" cried Jaune, amusement now devoid from his face as he re-imagined the sensation of being completely screwed.

"Hey Henry?" asked Ruby, poking the kind man in the beard to get his attention. Once she saw she had his attention she continued; "You mentioned Jaune's parents, but weren't you a team of four? Who was the fourth?"

All of a sudden, it felt like the temperature in the hallway dropped, as Henrys' eyes glazed over and he seemed to stare into nothingness. After a few seconds he merely whispered "She was beautiful…"

The entirety of team RNJR was shocked at this massive change in atmosphere, and all looked at one another to silently confirm that they should avoid this line of questioning for now.

As the conversation died, they reached the end of their journey in the form of a thick set of automatic doors that sat wide open with five doctors in surgical gear waiting next to a hospital bed. Next to them rested the aforementioned 'Captain Gilles'. His helmet was removed, and he had dark brown, proper hair that reached the top of his neck, brown eyes and thin mustache atop his lips. He looked concerned, his eyes flicking between the bleeding girl and his lords face.

Henry placed Ruby onto the trolley as he spoke with the surgeons, "I've been maintaining her aura with infusions of my own while she rested on my shoulder. My semblance steadied her heart rate and kept her from panicking," _'So that's what that was…'_ Ruby noted as the warm presence that surrounded her slowly faded and was replaced with a piercing pain."-for the best if she goes under as soon as possible."

' _Wait. Under what?'_

Before she knew it, Nora was holding her hand as they placed a mask over Ruby's mouth and nose, flooding them with a gas that made her sleepy like she'd just had a warm lunch. She watched her nervous friends get filed out of the room by Captain Gilles as Henry stood by her, a worried look breaking his composure.

' _So…fluffy…'_ was all she could think of as her eyes settled on the man's beard one last time before sleep consumed her.

* * *

 _A night of darkness. People screaming, friends that are hurt and friends she never had the chance to make are gone forever. All around her, terror floods the streets, no one is safe._

 _Running. Her heart mourns for her friend, but now strives to save anyone else from this fate._

 _A tower. Flames lick the top of a shattered symbol as darkness circles it. A cry for help spurns her on, yet she feels her limbs turn to lead._

 _She runs. Climbs the tower. She crests the edge._

 _An arrow and heart meet, yet no romance blooms. Only pain and death find comfort in each other's embrace._

 _A champion clutches her chest and turns towards her and screams like a haunting wraith as the world goes dark…_

' _You let me die.'_

* * *

Ruby's eyes shoot open as her heart pounds against her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs as it threatens to break through. Panic fills the young reaper as she takes in the room around her, her eyes searching for any indication she wasn't in some fresh hell. She's sitting in a bed that definitely wasn't hers. Next to the bedside was an open window that faces a stony courtyard and impressive walls.

Her eyes trail back towards her room, confused where she is – until her eyes settle on Jaune.

The blond knight has his face buried by her feet on the bed she found herself laying in. Drooling slightly from his open mouth, Ruby noticed an open comic next to him. At the sight of her friend, Ruby's heart calmed as she figured out she wasn't in a dream.

The pain was too real to be a dream honestly. It hurt like crazy, but it was more of a constant buzzing pain rather than a piercing lance. Lifting her blanket, she found that she was dressed in a hospital gown, and her right leg was completely encased in a thick white cast… well it wasn't really white anymore.

Ruby could clearly see signs that Nora had been nearby, as her entire cast was covered in pink sloths and hearts. She thought she could see drawings of all four of them but couldn't really make it out in the darkness that blanketed the room, save for the moonlight that streamed through the window. It illuminated a small electronic clock that sat on a bedside table next to a vase of white and red roses. Picking up the clock, Ruby squinted and read the small numbers that spelt out "1:00 AM. Day 14 of March".

The events of the previous day came to the forefront of Ruby's concentration as she recounted everything that had happened. She'd woken up from a pain/medication induced sleep twice in 24 hours, learned that Cardin was top-tier nobility, and already decided she wanted to bake cookies for the friendly badger-of-a-man, Lord Henry (and herself).

"Well," she whispered to herself, careful not to disturb Jaune who had clearly fallen asleep while waiting for her to wake up, "at least things in Mistral are just as interesting as Vale…" she smiled softly as Jaune snorted in his sleep and grumbled something about… ships? It was clear he had fallen asleep at his post, and Ruby couldn't help but feel touched at his unwavering dedication to his teammates.

But then again.

She wasn't really his teammate.

Her smile fell as the thought crossed her mind. No, that spot belonged to Pyrrha. It always would.

Ruby could feel her eyes water as the fiery haired Mistralian came to mind, her unwavering sense of purpose and kindness was inspiring to everyone who knew her. She had been ready to take on the universe, all to give them a chance at happiness. And yet, here was Ruby.

Sitting in a comfy bed in Pyrrha's hometown while the champion was dust in the wind. Ruby couldn't help but feel a throbbing pain in her chest as she realized that Pyrrha would never again see the mountains and fields of her homeland. Never bath in the sun or drill in its courtyards. She would never enjoy these cool nights again.

Ruby felt like a fist was clogging her throat as she fought back tears for her friend, and the shame that she hadn't been able to save her. She tried playing hero and failed at saving a real one. Ruby gripped her sheets tighter as the melancholy inside her threatened to break out… until she heard singing begin to float through her window. At first, it was the humming of a smooth and calming melody, but soon a voice she couldn't recognize began to echo across the courtyard.

It was a steady and low voice, coming from a singer with clear control over their tone. Ruby couldn't see the singer, but eased her grip on her sheets as she listened to the voice the carried on the wind:

 _I never felt_

 _That it was wise_

 _To wish too much_

 _To dream too big_

 _Would only lead_

 _To being crushed_

 _Then I met you_

 _You weren't afraid_

 _Of anything_

 _You taught me how_

 _To leave the ground_

 _To use my wings_

 _I never thought a hero_

 _Would ever come my way_

 _But more than that_

 _I never thought you'd be taken away_

 _Now it's cold without you here_

 _It's like winter lasts all year_

 _But your star's still in the sky_

At last, the singer stepped into view of the courtyard as a hooded figure slowly made its way across the stone tiles. In their hands was a silver dish filled halfway with water. Atop the dish rested several white petals. The figure kneeled to place the bowl underneath the four flagpoles, and rose to their feet. The singer raised their hands to the sky, and the wind shifted towards them. The petals slowly rose from the bowl and into the air as they began to sing once more:

 _So I won't say goodbye_

Ruby didn't even notice as the tears slid down her face, completely enthralled with the singing. Her heart felt heavy, but her head felt clear. The tears began to pool on her blanket, but she didn't care, her eyes rising to look at the star-filled sky and thought of the champion once more, mouthing her name as though it was a secret to the heavens. Her eyes slowly closed, her heavy heart acting like an anchor that pulled her once more to sleep, the tears slowly drying as she thought of how the stars still shown in the sky, and how Pyrrha was never truly gone so long as they remembered the good times they all shared.

 _I don't have to say goodbye….._

She would never forget.

* * *

Far above the sleeping warrior, in the speckled skies above Mistral, a light winked into existence. Right at a perfect angle to face Ruby's sleeping face was a new light.

A red star.

* * *

 **AN: hey guys, Jupitermonkey4 here! Hope you enjoyed the Chapter!**

 **So, this chapter was really meant to show the dynamic between Henry and RNJR, as well as show how the Winchester Manor was impressive in its own right rather than the humongous architecture of Beacon. I aimed to describe the house properly as this long and winding construct, because RNJR and CRDL will be spending a lot of time there throughout this story.**

 **The story isn't a huge plot-train. There will be exposition, conversations, jokes and emotions – both good and bad.**

 **Shout-out to** _TimmyTam0907_ **for Beta-reading! He's an awesome dude, and I recommend you check out his story, Kingdom Come.**

 **I really appreciate the reviews! They are really encouraging!**

 **Guest: I intend to have Ruby and Cardin have a dynamic, though what kind of dynamic that is, you'll just have to wait and see!**

 **Archilean: I liked the idea of Cardin not really having something that defined him, but rather his position. I actually have a plan pertaining to all the symbols of CRDL, so fret not!**

 **Vostok2142: I mean, we've seen them be jerks in the show, so why not assume they all have the same kind of unpleasant humor? Russel is definitely going to be carrying the torch in the smarmy department though, that's for sure!**

 **Any other reviews that I didn't respond to I either didn't know what to say other than "AWW THANKS" But I read them all and it really makes my heart soar when I get a new one :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review, and if you liked the story and haven't fav'd or followed it yet, please feel free! I plan on updating this story often, and I'll let you know if that changes anytime soon.**

 **~Cheers!~ – Jupitermonkey4**


	4. Chapter 4

Sunlight beamed through Ruby's open window as a nurse came by and opened it, landing right onto Ruby's face. The sensation of her face slowly warming was enough to gently prod her out of her deep and much-deserved slumber.

Cracking her eyes open slightly, Ruby couldn't help but wince as the rays of light went straight into her eyes. At her bedside in the same spot as he was in when Ruby woke up for the first time – was Jaune.

The blond knight was lazily flipping through the same comic Ruby had seen him with the previous night, clearly skimming the pages of a story he must have read dozens of times by now.

A soft smile graced her face at the unaware knight while she slowly awoke properly. She stretched her arms high into the hair and sat upright, yawning loudly. Jaune let out a high-pitched yelp as he fell backwards off his chair at the sudden and loud awakening.

Laughing loudly, Ruby winced slightly as her bruised chest heaved – which the brunette found kind of surprising considering that her Aura should have taken care of it by now. Her thoughts were interrupted by the flailing and scrambling of limbs as Jaune attempted to pull himself out of the tangled mess of legs and a stool. "Sorry, not sorry!" a still giggling Ruby called over the edge of her bedside without even looking as she picked up the small clock by her bedside once more and studied the information in her hands.

The clock read '3:00 PM. Day 14 of March'.

This caused Ruby to frown. She could hardly believe she had slept through the entire day! Granted, that would explain the sunlight and Jaune's previous boredom, but the fact that the self-proclaimed 'Nugget of energy' was out like a light was a testament to how absolutely exhausted she was. Ruby placed the clock back down and watched as Jaune stood triumphantly over the stool, only to take a single step and place his foot right on top of his shoelaces, sending him face first into the wall opposite to Ruby.

Guffawing, Ruby barely managed to gasp out through the tears in her eyes "J-Jaune! Are you okay?" though the mirth in her voice gave away that she found the situation far too entertaining to be worrisome.

Whimpering, Jaune slowly dragged his face off of the wall, teetering as he tried to stop his brain from spinning. Regaining his footing, the blond stood up over the stool – his wicked foe, and rested his hands on his hips and harrumphed triumphantly.

It was only after a few seconds of awkward silence that Ruby coughed into her fist, causing Jaune to pivot rapidly with a wild look in his eyes, earning a "Heya Jaune!" from the sheepish 15 year old.

A smile invaded Jaune's slightly bruised face as he yelled "Ruby! You're awake!" he practically ran towards her (carefully avoiding the stool) before he clasped her hands between his. "Hehe, yeah." Ruby snorted loudly "Woke up at like one in the morning, dude."

This caused Jaune's eyes to narrow and his jaw to snap shut as he practically growled at the brunette, "So you mean to tell me," the blondes eyebrow was twitching now. _'Proooooobably not a good sign.'_ Ruby thought as the knight rose to his full height, "that you've been fine for like, 20 hours and I've been sitting here reading the same lame comic book over and over again for nothing?!" He was practically screeching at this point. Ruby visibly squirmed under his assault, but felt her inner Xiao-Long emerge alongside the urge to poke fun in the face of danger.

"Yeah, and you drooled for like 10 of those hours – **Which,** is a product of some seriously bad math on your end if I must say." Ruby couldn't help but grin as her awkward friends façade broke while mirth bubbled to the surface, "Well at least I don't snore like an elephant!" he retorted, earning a disbelieving gasp from Ruby.

"What! I do NOT snore!" an indignant Ruby squawked, earning a woeful glance from Jaune as he sighed and stood by the windowsill, dramatically waving his arms about as he cried, "Ruby, you snore loud enough to drown out Professor Port during a lecture."

That was it. Ruby had come to the conclusion that would solve all of her problems.

She needed to beat Jaune with his own legs.

Before she could throw herself off of the bed and into battle, one of the five physicians whom Ruby had seen before she passed out strode into the room. Upon seeing Ruby awake and animated, he smiled softly and began walking towards her calling out "Ah. Miss Rose, it's good to see you are doing well." He picked up a clipboard that hung at the end of her bed and began to sift through her documents.

With such an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air, Ruby fidgeted in her spot as she fiddled with her hair and unconsciously found her eyes darting around the room. She was never a fan of doctors or hospitals. Hospitals meant things were wrong with people she cared about and doctors often had more bad news than good. Jaune had dropped his act by the window, picked up his stool and sat by Ruby, adopting a wary expression as they waited for news on her condition.

"Well Miss Rose," the doctor began, earning the sharp and focused attention of the two teens, "it would seem that you placed heavy stress on your right knee throughout your encounter, and that additional blow to the back of your torso from the Ursa Major that was mentioned in Sir Winchester's report only made things that much worse. Being thrown as well as the explosion and subsequent fall severely depleted your Aura, far more than your other team mates." He placed the clipboard down and gave Ruby a peculiar look, though Ruby could see something hiding behind those eyes… sadness maybe? Either way it was unnerving.

"That being said, you are still younger than most that would find themselves in this scenario and have not developed as much additional muscle and weight as your companions, making you absorb damage at a far greater cost. This stress tore apart every important muscle in your knee to put it simply, accompanied by a fracture in your Tibia and internal bleeding along the entire length of your leg. While your Aura would have normally been able to fix these, it was heavily depleted and instinctively focused all of its efforts into your knee where the damage was critical." Seeing Ruby nodding once in understanding, he finished up his report. "With your leg set in a cast, it should be able to heal both naturally as well as with your slowly regenerating Aura. You may have scarring on your knee where we had to operate and salvage what we could so that your Aura wouldn't be spread as thin, though I doubt a huntress as determined as you would really mind some less-than normal knees, am I right?" he finished with a small smile tugging across his lips.

But then the fear came back into his eyes and Ruby felt her heart sink. After a couple of seconds of silence, she spoke up: "There's something else isn't there?" the doctor looked away and stepped towards a covered up section of the infirmary. Moving aside the curtains he dragged out something heavy that clattered when it hit the ground almost as though it was on-

A cold claw wrapped around Ruby's heart as her situation dawned on her. For a speedster such as herself, her mobility came above all. Her personality, her impulses, and her fighting style: all of them revolved around being a quick girl with a happy-go-lucky attitude.

This explained the doctor's fears. He was going to have to do the most dangerous thing a physician could encounter in their career.

He had to convince Ruby to use a wheelchair.

* * *

It took several minutes of dodging pillows, clocks, flowers as well as various tissue boxes that someone had made the error of storing underneath her bed to finally get the young girl to calm down. Jaune could only watch in horror and confusion as he watched Ruby launch projectiles at the man, only to have the greying man to dodge and kick things out of his way as he pushed the chair towards the brunette.

After one poor toss of the assorted plants that once hung outside her window, Ruby found herself staggered with exhaustion setting back in. Deeming that a renewed retaliation would be far more deadly than any potential fatigue, the doctor dove into her guard and grabbed her limp hands firmly – causing her to grunt in protest and bury her face into her one remaining pillow.

After a minute of silence, Jaune could see from the movement of her upper body that Ruby was crying softly, though he could do nothing to aid her.

The doctor loosened his grip as he moved to recover one of the almost flattened tissue boxes on the ground and placed it on Ruby's bed. Ruby promptly swiped it without looking up and burrowed herself underneath her blanket.

The doctor took this lull in the offensive to fully explain himself. "Miss Rose," he spoke softly and soothingly, a voice that had clearly been honed and forged after years of telling soldiers and friends bad news and subsequently aiding them in their recovery. "This is not the end of the world, you only need stay in this contraption for a short time – after which you shall be able to engage in whatever activities you see fit, barring falling out of an exploding Bullhead of course." The sobbing underneath the blanket slowed, and an uneven voice escaped from the folds "H-how long?" the distraught girl asked. Seeing a chance at reconciliation with the sniper, the doctor practically leapt forwards as he exclaimed "a week, at the utmost! In that time, I'm sure you can find other practical uses of your time other than sprinting to and fro."

A single 'Hmm.' Escaped from the den of cotton before exploding, revealing a mountain of soggy tissues and a once tear streaked now-beaming Ruby.

"A week? I think that's easy to deal with, right Jaune?" the small girl whipped her head around and looked expectantly at the blond buffoon who took a quick cue from the swiftly nodding doctor and uncertainly smiled and said "Uh- yeah! Sure it will!"

The doctor face palmed at the terrible acting, but Ruby seemed to buy it as she already began setting a calendar event on her Scroll for when she would be allowed to walk again.

"I should also add that you are to, **under no circumstances** walk on that leg. If you do, you will risk any chance of healing properly and potentially even being a huntress!" upon hearing Ruby's gulp and rapid nodding, the doctor turned and began to head out the door. As it slid open, he turned back and sternly shook his hand at the duo, "And it would be best if you did not attempt travel for today. I will make sure you are cleared with the nurses for departure as of tomorrow." He finished with a smile and walked out the door.

' _Huh.'_ Ruby thought, _'never met someone with mood swings before.'_ Shrugging, the brunette turned to face Jaune, who had been staring off into space for no apparent reason. A swift poke at this ribs had the boy blink twice before focusing back onto Ruby, who raised an eyebrow at his peculiar attitude.

"Ehehe…" he began as he sheepishly rubbed his head – a habit he had formed long before the two of them met in the Beacon Courtyard. "Just thinking about everything that's happened so far."

Ruby sagely nodded, "I get the feeling. A crash, losing a fight so badly, getting saved by Cardin Winchester of all people," She waved her hands at the window and all around the room in one sweeping motion, "Not to mention all of this! It feels crazy knowing that we were on Patch only five days ago and now we're here!" She sighed and leaned into her fluffy pillow after she propped it up against the headboard of the bed, "It's so much to take in." Ruby couldn't help but feel that any semblance of a plan she had made for getting to Mistral and rooting out those responsible for the Battle of Beacon had been completely damaged alongside her leg, and would need the same amount of time to repair.

Jaune could only nod as a small frown appeared on his face. Ruby bit her lip as she realized that Jaune was going through the same crisis about heroism as she was. Sighing, she looked out the window and saw the bright blue sky as it carried thin clouds across the world. Figuring that if anyone was going to say something, it would be her – Ruby turned back to Jaune and gave him a strong if not forced, smile. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up, Jaune." His bright blue eyes slowly met hers as she continued, "we've come this far, and I refuse to back down." She finished as she could see her determined face reflecting in Jaune's unblinking eyes.

After a brief silence, Jaune set his jaw and nodded his head finally speaking up, "You're right. I've been beaten down before, and while I hope that stops I don't intend to let it keep me there." He smiled now, as he patted his hand against the wheelchair, "Besides, someone's gotta roll you around in this thing, right?"

This earned him a playful glare and an eye roll as the room descended into comfortable silence once more, letting the soft winds and faint chirping of birds float through her window.

Sighing in relief, Ruby deflated into her surprisingly comfortable bed and got mentally prepared herself for what would be a long day of mild boredom. As she shifted her blanket and Jaune got up to stretch, Ruby got a proper look at her cast. What she saw the childish yet incredibly intricate doodles on the white plaster. Smiling at the thought of her eccentric friend drawing on her cast while the doctors and Ren tried to pull her away, Ruby looked back up at Jaune who was moving to sit back down once more. "Hey Jaune?"

"Hmm?" was all she got from the blond, "Where exactly are Ren and Nora?"

The blonde's eyes widened as a mad laugh echoed through one of the far windows, followed by several explosions and several shouts of indignation. _'Annnnnd there's my answer.'_ Ruby thought as she playfully sighed and shook her head. Jaune clipped on Crocea Mors and stepped towards the doors, leaving his comic book in Ruby's hands muttering something about 'helping keep her entertained' before he swiftly exited the room via the automatic doors.

As they closed half-way, the knight banged into one of the doors as he squeezed back in, a serious look on his face. Ruby could feel all of their previous mirth had been drained, and was replaced by Jaune's _'leader face'_.

"Ruby, I thought I should mention this before I left," he closed the gap between the two of them before standing by her bedside and taking one of her hands, whispering "We haven't told anyone why we were heading to Mistral, and as much as I like Henry – we don't know who we can trust anymore. It would be best if we keep this under wraps for now. If anyone asks, we say we are here to visit Pyrrha's family – okay?"

While Ruby could see the sense in keeping their hunt for the truth a secret, she couldn't help but feel conflicted at the thought of using the mourning family of their deceased friend and lover as a cover up. The implications of whether or not they were forced to act upon this cover story were daunting to say the least. Meeting Pyrrha's family would be… devastating, to say the least. Ruby knew she still harboured some sense of guilt, but Nora, Ren and Jaune were all her team mates. They had seen her at her best and her worst, and with her passing it was as though a part of them went with her. That had left them all with pretty huge holes in their hearts, especially Jaune. He may put on a good show, but Ruby could tell how badly he hurt. His breathing was more uneven, he hadn't been eating as well and trained twice as hard. His once bright blue eyes now seemed a little darker, and those very same eyes now bore into the back of her skull.

"O-okay…" Ruby said uneasily, more to placate the boy than anything else. With a sharp nod, the boy jogged out of the room to presumably find Nora and Ren and tell them the good news.

After the doors close shut, Ruby couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief with the disappearance of the foreboding atmosphere Jaune projected whenever Pyrrha was brought up. He had changed, and while his tactical mind was now focused, Ruby wondered if their vengeance was worth Jaune losing himself in the chaos…

"Bah, forget all of that Rubles! You've got better things to think about like… uuuuh…" Ruby stopped her not-so-internal monologue as she looked around the room for something to amuse herself, eyes resting on the comic book she still had in her hands. "This com-"

"Please tell me that isn't the very same book I have to keep taking from my men?" a gruff voice boomed out as Henry stepped through the door, smiling brightly. He was no longer in his armor, but a finely pressed black suit. His hair was combed and his beard was finely cleaned and trimmed. In his leather wrapped hand was a fine gold pocket watch with his family crest emblazoned proudly on the back. Rather than a terrifying dark knight, he looked more like a fierce business man who could put even Glynda on her toes.

"Uh, is the book called 'X-Ray and Vav: Issue 435'?" Ruby questioned, waving the childish comic at the large ginger. Snorting in response, Henry pulled up Jaune's stool and sat next to Ruby, "well, so long as it's not 'Ninja's of-… actually, never mind that." His easy smile gave way to a more serious look as he leaned forward and softly asked, "How do you feel?"

"Okay I guess, it could hurt more." Ruby stated awkwardly, uncomfortable underneath the man's scrutiny. However, if Henry noticed her discomfort he certainly didn't show it. Reaching over to the vase of roses that had been at Ruby's bedside (still untouched from her showdown with the doctor, she couldn't bring herself to throw it), Henry plucked out a red rose and held it in-between two digits of fine material and looked back at the little red reaper:

"I wasn't talking about the leg."

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! Sorry this took forever to get out :s school has been intense and I haven't found much time or rhythm to write.**

 **So yeah, really short chapter this time! SORRY! This was just the most organic way to end it for now, and I hope to have the following chapter ready sooner this time. Hopefully the chapters will revert back to their original length by then.**

 **Shootout to** **TimmyTam0907** **for beta reading and point out how to make this chapter flow better. I'd recommend you go check out his stories, they are GREAT :D**

 **As always, favorite follow and review! If you'd like to discuss anything in depth or if you have ideas, let me hear them with a PM! I'm a quick responder and enjoy discussion :)**

 **~Cheers!~,**

 **Jupitermonkey4**


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